In practice, uncles and aunts often try to claim inheritance ahead of their nephews and nieces, feeling that they are better suited to rule. Officially, if a lord dies leaving an infant daughter and an adult younger brother, his infant daughter is first in line of succession. A lord's younger brother will only inherit once his older brother's bloodline is exhausted, leaving no surviving children or grandchildren. The other major rule under primogeniture inheritance law is that a lord's children will inherit before the lord's younger siblings. In contrast to the Lannisters, when their bannerman Gregor Clegane succeeded to the rule of House Clegane, he gave absolutely nothing to his younger brother Sandor, at which Sandor struck out on his own to seek his fortune as a bodyguard in direct service to the Lannisters. However this is a matter of personal preference and not a requirement. Even so, Tywin looks out for his family, and has rewarded Kevan with substantial wealth over the years for his loyal service. For example, Tywin Lannister inherited all of his father's holdings, while his younger brother Kevan Lannister inherited no lands. Many heirs will still try to provide for their younger siblings, giving them funds to live on or minor holdfasts to rule over in their name.

The designated heir in line of succession is decided by birth order, in which an elder brother would inherit ahead of a younger brother. The other major factor is the current lord - if one decided to do something unusual with his estates, that would carry weight. Nor are they combined, as a rule, although one person could conceivably hold more than one title. 'The laws of inheritance in the Seven Kingdoms are modeled on those in real medieval history.which is to say, they were vague, uncodified, subject to varying interpretations, and often contradictory.'Holdings are seldom divided. Martin described inheritance in Westeros: This is in contrast to a system of partible inheritance, in which lands would be divided evenly among siblings upon the death of their parents.Īs George R.R. The feudal society of the Seven Kingdoms follows inheritance law based on primogeniture, a winner-take-all system in which the designated heir inherits all of their parents' lands and possessions, to the exclusion of younger siblings. Kings See main article: ' King' Nobility See main article: ' Noble house' Knights See main article: ' Knighthood' Commoners See main article: ' Smallfolk' Inheritance laws This 'government' is based on personal oaths of allegiance: while one can speak of 'the realm' on a vague level, they do not possess an abstract concept of the 'Nation-state' in modern terms. A strict political hierarchy is in place, consisting of kings and great lords who command the allegiance of lesser lords who serve as their vassals. The feudal society of the Seven Kingdoms is based on a rigid social structure dividing the population between a hereditary nobility set above commoners known as smallfolk. The seventh, Dorne, remained independent until it peacefully joined the realm almost two centuries later. The Targaryen Conquest united the six of the Seven Kingdoms into a single realm subordinate to the Iron Throne. When Aegon I Targaryen began his invasion of Westeros, the continent was divided between seven large kingdoms.

In ancient times, every hill-lord called himself a ' king', but over the centuries the stronger petty kingdoms absorbed the weaker ones, gradually aggregating into larger kingdoms. The system of lordship may have been introduced in Westeros under the First Men, though its final form was achieved after the Andals invaded the continent six thousand years ago. In turn, these noble houses are ruled by the Great Houses who are sworn to the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men. The social and political structure in the Seven Kingdoms is based on a system of lords and lordship, in which political power is dominated by noble houses. ' Being a lord is like being a father, except you have thousands of children, and you worry about them all the time.' ― Robb Stark

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